Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of entry passages providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - established militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate militants who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military carried out what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, after an attack killed two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
